Camera for round the world trip

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danski

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A very good friend of mine is off round the world in October for a year & has asked me for some advice as to what camera to take. He's only taking a rucksack with him & it clearly can't just be filled with camera gear! He's happy to buy 2nd hand and is giving himself a budget of around £500.

My initial thinking was maybe a Canon 450/500D (I'm Canon biased!) with 18-55 & 55-250 (IS) lenses as well as 2-3 sd cards & a circ polariser. That should give him a good range, lenses are good enough (he's brand new to DSLR photography) and it'll be a light enough to not weigh down his rucksack. He wants a fairly wide angle for some of the expected impressive landscapes, but also a bit of reach. The 18-200 IS or 18-135 IS could be an alternative to carrying 2 lenses, but I've got no experience of either of these - The Digital Review suggests they're both good travelling lenses.

Alternatively, he could get something like a GF1/2, G11 or the new Lumix that's being advertised by the Scottish guy on TV at the mo (sorry, can't remember the model!).

He is also slightly concerned about having the camera stolen whilst on his travels, so nothing too flash. He'll be backing up photos online as he travels.

So, what do you recommend?
 
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if only taking a rucksack and he is new to a dslr which probably means auto all the time I think I would go for a compact, there are loads of them, cannot personally recommend one but the Panasonic TZ range seems to get good reviews.
 
RKC said:
if only taking a rucksack and he is new to a dslr which probably means auto all the time I think I would go for a compact, there are loads of them, cannot personally recommend one but the Panasonic TZ range seems to get good reviews.
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He'll probably start on Full Auto, but will quickly move to aperture/shutter priority - he's thinking about doing a 1 day photography course before going away too.

Think a P&S compact will be a bit too limiting, hence thinking entry level DSLR or a 4/3
 
I'd go for a Panasonic G1/G2/G3 with a 20mm for every day use and low-light and a 45-200 for reach.
 
I think that would be ideal.

The last twice I've been abroad I took a GF1+20mm f1.7 for low light and quality and a LX5 for general use and wide and long(ish) zoom and shooting with those was far more liberating than with a big heally DSLR.
 
I've got a TZ7 as well, but you're never going to be able to take any shots at night without using flash, which rules out landscapes. The G1 + 20mm will happily snap away at night without a tripod or flash.
 
danski said:
A very good friend of mine is off round the world in October for a year & has asked me for some advice as to what camera to take. He's only taking a rucksack with him & it clearly can't just be filled with camera gear! He's happy to buy 2nd hand and is giving himself a budget of around £500.

My initial thinking was maybe a Canon 450/500D (I'm Canon biased!) with 18-55 & 55-250 (IS) lenses as well as 2-3 sd cards & a circ polariser. That should give him a good range, lenses are good enough (he's brand new to DSLR photography) and it'll be a light enough to not weigh down his rucksack. He wants a fairly wide angle for some of the expected impressive landscapes, but also a bit of reach. The 18-200 IS or 18-135 IS could be an alternative to carrying 2 lenses, but I've got no experience of either of these - The Digital Review suggests they're both good travelling lenses.

Alternatively, he could get something like a GF1/2, G11 or the new Lumix that's being advertised by the Scottish guy on TV at the mo (sorry, can't remember the model!).

He is also slightly concerned about having the camera stolen whilst on his travels, so nothing too flash. He'll be backing up photos online as he travels.

So, what do you recommend?
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Using a Polizarier on those two lenses wouldnt be very easy given the rotating front elements.

What about a used 450D(or 500D if he wants to spend a bit more) and 17-85 IS? I'd guess you could pick that up for under £500, good all round fairly tough lens that would let him use a polarizer and grad filter easily. Maybe have a 50mm 1.8 aswell for portraits? very easy to keep in your pocket.
 
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If he's just wanting to bring back some very good quality memories from his trip I would look at the little Canon s95 or the G12.Great quality in a small package.
Alternatively,it would be a Panny GF1 or 2 with a 14-45 lens.You would have enough cash left to pick up the 20mm or the 45-200mm depending on what you thought you would use the most.
Chuck in something like a Joby gorillapod and you have a very nice little kit.
All of the above would allow for some very nice video footage to be shot if needed.

I would personally avoid the dslr on this trip.

Cheers
Gary
 
vulcan2912 said:
If he's just wanting to bring back some very good quality memories from his trip I would look at the little Canon s95 or the G12.Great quality in a small package.
Alternatively,it would be a Panny GF1 or 2 with a 14-45 lens.You would have enough cash left to pick up the 20mm or the 45-200mm depending on what you thought you would use the most.
Chuck in something like a Joby gorillapod and you have a very nice little kit.
All of the above would allow for some very nice video footage to be shot if needed.

I would personally avoid the dslr on this trip.

Cheers
Gary
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There seems to be a number of options when it comes to Lumix 4/3rds - G1/2/3, GF1/2/3 & GH1/2/3 - how much of a difference is there between these?

Also, are the lenses the same fit between these?

Olympus version of the GF1/2/3 seems to get a better review when it comes to colour reproduction & quality of images when shot as JPEG - any truth in this?
 
500D would be my reccomendation, great for learning on, and lets face it, if he's going away for a year, and someone was to throw a 500d field guide at him he'd have the hang of it in no time at all and getting some fantastic shots i'm sure!

also does hd video which is a bonus!
 
I took my G1 around the world, with the 14-45 and the 20mm, never needed the 20mm. The G3 is even smaller, that's what I'd get if I went again.
 
I reckon the 450d isnt a bad option interms of quality, but the weight is an important consideration, and I reckon with a couple of lenses he might get knacked off always carrying it around.
 
Hi

I think the main differences with the cams in the Panny range are the built in viewfinder and the erganomics.There's probably other differences but to be honest if i was moving away from the GF range I would probably just plump for a DSLR.
All M4/3 lenses fit on any M4/3 camera.You can even use the Oly lenses on a Panny etc.
I've never used the Oly cameras but they are a bit too big for my liking.The GF range have got smaller with each new camera.The GF3 is really small.
You can pick up the GF1 and 14-45 for a very good price second hand.I would personally go with the 45-200mm lens rather than the 20mm-great if you could afford both.I've had numerous A3 pics printed from the GF1 and 14-45mm and the quality is very good.

Cheers
Gary
 
Whatever he gets, I'd suggest it has a single lens, either fixed, so a bridge camera, or a good range lens + DSLR, or an m43 with one lens. The last thing he wants to be messing around with on a round world trip is having to clean a sensor.
 
Work out approximately how much the gear would be, find something that weighs the same and put it in the bag he'll be travelling with, to get an idea of how much the weight will be. Some people can carry a 5dmkII + L lenses all day long and not bat an eyelid, and some people suffer carrying a 600D + plastic fantastic. All depends on the person.
 
My travel camera is a GF1 +20mm with the logos taped over, just looks like a cheap p+s so doesn't attract attention.
 
Thinking the GF1 or 2 is going to be the way to go - 14-42mm lens & maybe the 45-200 too
 
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